It surely wasn’t his intent to instruct anyone about anything in an interview with Jimmy Kimmel on ABC. But look at this analysis from digg.com of Trump’s answer to Kimmel’s question, “Isn’t it un-American and wrong to discriminate against people based on their religion?”Continue reading →

NYU tried an experiment in 2009, when applicants to the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service were allowed the option of reacting to this photograph — or any one of a number of others — as an essay question.

As an applicant, you might not want to touch this image with a 10-foot dandelion. But if you’re stuck on a subject to write about for your common app essay, try staring at this picture for a few minutes. What do you see? What does it remind you of? Riff on those memories. Make some stream-of-consciousness notes. Continue reading →

Welcome

This is a place for students with essays to write, for school projects. For college, scholarship and job applications. Grade 7 to grad school. It's not filled with recipes for success. It's a collection of ideas -- a running conversation about writing and language. Think about writing in totally fresh ways . No ugh!! here -- it's actually interesting! They don't teach this stuff in school. Engage with these ideas, and writing will become a more satisfying process. Your voice will grow stronger.

The curator is Leslie Seifert, an award-winning opinion page editor, educator and highly successful private tutor. (See Meet the Coach.) He has helped college-essay writers gain admission to all the Ivy League colleges and many top public and private schools. (See Great Results.) The site has home-made exercises (see How We Work). We track trends in college admissions, under What's Hot (on the home page) and the category Inside College Admissions. You'll get a clearer idea of who is reading your college essay and why. There's also info on how to work one-one with Leslie. Enjoy!

WHAT'S HOT

The New SAT Is Here, Hurrah Hurrah
Now with with an optional essay. What does the question look like? What colleges will require it?
Click the logo for the official word.

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Parents Rave

"This guy was really spectacular in that he pulled the stuff out of my son but would not write it for him. So ultimately the essay came from deep down inside, and he made sure that it sang."

Students, Too

"I can honestly say I wrote the best essay of my life. I had thought that all the grammar and structure was perfect because I had had other professionals look at my paper. Leslie found a ton of things that needed to be re-worked . . . I was accepted into the #5 liberal arts college in the nation.”